a day at the beach

yesterday we took sylvia to the beach. it was a big step for her and for us. this is the farthest we have ever traveled with her. it took somewhere around 3 hrs to get to carolina beach. don't ask me why. i think we go into a time vortex when we travel, but it works. sylvia slept a lot of the way. we stopped for a picnic at a rest area about 70 miles from wilmington. after our picnic i nursed sylvia and wandered off to the vending machines to get some random snacks. somehow that took an hr. it took us a bit to find the actual beach, especially as we had deliberately traveled there with very sketchy plans. however, we found a space to park and embarked to the beach with our enormous beach umbrella, diaper bag, cooler, backpack and duffel *sigh*. the umbrella was not as necessary as we had feared it would be as we didn't arrive until around 5pm. it was a bit cloudy, but still quite pleasant. i was quite concerned when i saw the only people actually in the water were surfers wearing wetsuits, but the water wasn't really that cold. it was rough, which was a bit of a problem as one of us had to stay on shore with sylvia at all times. jeff took his token dip in the ocean, during which he went way to far out and down the beach for my comfort. the ocean off of carolina beach drops off fairly sharply making for some really strong waves close to the shore. i went in with the idea that i was at least going to get in the ocean and i'd get out when i got uncomfortable. well, i enjoyed myself and got out farther than i thought i might, but after getting dunked, i decided it was not worth it to play with waves that big. i probably wasn't in the water for more than 5 minutes, but i don't feel cheated. next came the ceremonial toe dip. i can't explain my feelings about this.
....
a very small baby - a very large ocean. it was beautiful. there are so many things she has never seen. she's so young she still doesn't seem to comprehend a lot of what she sees, every so often she seems to catch a glimmer. sylvia was born in the winter and i could not wait to start taking her outside. as soon as the temperature was just barely warm enough, we would bundle her up and show her the world. i want her to feel like my garden is part of her home. during the afternoons when we've both had enough of fussing, i will take her outside to stare at the trees, and it actually works most of the time.

i know next year she will enjoy it more, but i am glad she has been to see the ocean not so much that she will remember it, but to know that it is also hers. there are so many things to show her.
...
there are also the non-poetic practical details of traveling with a baby: the 2 wardrobe changes, the interruptions of a really incredible seafood meal for diaper changes, the nursing on the beach complete with sand and salt. ah well, now she has tasted the ocean too. she did sleep all the way home which was incredible. today she seems to be making up for some of the quicker and less comfortable nursing sessions with some marathons, but she deserves it. she seems to be on the end curve of the growth spurt and was very tolerant of the poor conditions for feeding she experienced yesterday. a month ago this would not have been possible. i am now fairly predictably able to put her in her crib at night. she only sleeps there an hr and has still not settled back into her prior sleep schedule, but it is still progress.